High-Speed EMCCD Cameras for Low-Light Imaging

The ProEM-HS line of high-speed EMCCD cameras from Princeton Instruments have patented eXcelon3 technology (X3) for low-light imaging and spectroscopy applications. This advanced back-illuminated EMCCD technology offers combination of high quantum efficiency (>95 percent QE), best fringe suppression in the near infrared and single-photon sensitivity.

Enabled by its rapid (20 MHz) ADC readout capability and 300 nsec/row vertical shift speed, the new ProEM-HS:512BX3 model delivers > 60 full frames per second. Furthermore, this next-generation camera provides >1,000 fps in imaging mode and >10,000 fps utilizing special high-speed, custom readout modes. Operation is made simple by Princeton Instruments’ powerful, intuitive and user friendly LightField software.

Thanks to all-metal, hermetic vacuum seal technology that comes with the industry’s only lifetime vacuum guarantee, these cameras are thermoelectrically cooled to below -90 C using air and liquid for worry-free operation. Other advanced features include a built-in light source for precise electron multiplication (EM) gain calibration, as well as excellent baseline stability, hardware time-stamping, and a Gigabit Ethernet data interface.

New ProEM-HS cameras are fully compatible with Princeton Instruments’ LightField 64-bit application software, which provides complete control of camera features via a cutting-edge graphical user interface. For researchers requiring a custom interface, toolkits for National Instruments’ LabVIEW and MathWorks’ MATLAB are available, as are free software development kits (SDKs). The new high-speed EMCCD cameras have also been designed for easy integration with award-winning Princeton Instruments IsoPlane spectrographs to further leverage their excellent imaging and spectroscopic performance.

Princeton Instruments, www.princetoninstruments.com